Validation de l’inventaire des habiletés politiques auprès d’une population occupant un poste de directions d’établissement scolaire

A single instrument was listed to measure political skills, defined as the understanding of others and the use of that knowledge to influence their actions. It was validated with employees, although political skills were more relevant to managers and, in particular, to school principals. A single study validated the psychometric properties of the instrument with managers showing that the dimensional structure would deploy in 5 factors unlike what is observed among employees, which is deployed in 4 factors. The purpose of this study is to verify whether the tool is reliable and has a distinct structure when employed with a population occupying a management position and more particularly school principals. A total of 304 school principals completed an electronic questionnaire. The results suggest a satisfactory dimensional structure in four factors and good fidelity, which invalidates the use of a separate structure for manager including school principal, as reported by Snell et al. (2013).     

Some Oedipal problems in work with adopted children and their parents

This paper has two main theses. Firstly that Oedipal material is a particular feature of clinical work with adopted children; secondly, that the concept of developmental deficit, and not only that of psychic defence, is essential to an understanding of this aspect of the work with adopted children and their families. Three levels are distinguished at which Oedipal difficulties are manifest: the first two within the individual child and the third within the triangle formed by the child, his adoptive parents and the child psychotherapist. Some consideration is given to the limitations of a conventional treatment framework for containing the powerful Oedipal dynamic forces at play when an adopted child is a patient in individual psychotherapy. Dieser Artikel hat zwei Hauptthesen. Erstens, dass ödipales Material ein besonderes Merkmal der klinischen Arbeit mit adoptierten Kindern ist; zweitens dass das Konzept eines Entwicklungsdefizit, und nicht nur das eines psychischen Abwehrmechanismus, für das Verstehen dieses Aspekts der Arbeit mit adoptierten Kindern und ihren Familien unerlässlich ist. Es werden drei Stufen differenziert, in denen sich ödipale Schwierigkeiten manifestieren: die ersten zwei innerhalb des Kindes und die dritte innerhalb des Dreiecks, das vom Kind, seinen Adoptiveltern und dem Kindertherapeuten gebildet wird. Es werden überlegungen bezüglich der Grenzen des konventionellen Behandlungsrahmens angestellt, inwieweit er die mächtigen ödipalen dynamischen Kräfte, die im Spiel sind, 'containen' kann, wenn ein adoptiertes Kind Patient in individueller Psychotherapie ist. Dans son texte, l'auteur développe deux thèses principales: d'abord, que le matériel ?dipien est d'une importance particulière dans le traitement d'enfants adoptés; et, ensuite, que le concept de trouble déficitaire du développement, en plus de celui de défense psychique, est essentiel pour comprendre cet aspect de la prise en charge d'enfants adoptés et de leur famille. L'auteur distingue trois niveaux auxquels se manifestent la problématique ?dipienne?:?les deux premiers concernent l'enfant lui-même en tant qu'individu, le troisième renvoie au triangle composé de l'enfant, de ses parents adoptifs et du psychothérapeute. Certaines limitations imposées par le cadre thérapeutique traditionnel sont ensuite explorées, notamment par rapport à la possibilité de contenir la puissante dynamique ?dipienne évoquée dès qu'un enfant adopté est pris en psychothérapie individuelle. Questo articolo sostiene due tesi principali. La prima e' che il materiale edipico e' una caratteristica particolare del lavoro clinico con bambini adottati; la seconda e' che il concetto di deficit evolutivo, e non solo quello di difesa psichica, e' essenziale per capire questo aspetto del lavoro con bambini adottati e le loro famiglie. Vengono distinti tre livelli in cui si manifestano le difficolta' edipiche: i primi due all'interno del singolo bambino, il terzo all'interno del triangolo formato dal bambino, dai suoi genitori adottivi e dallo psicoterapeuta infantile. Vengono fatte alcune considerazioni sulle limitazioni che il contesto terapeutico convenzionale ha nel contenere le potenti forze dinamiche edipiche in gioco quando un bambino adottato diventa paziente in terapia individuale.     

The cultural mediation hypothesis: A critical examination

A fascinating hypothesis has been proposed by Woodley (2010, Intelligence, 38: 471–480) to explain why intelligence, in contemporary Western countries, appears to be positively associated with left wing political attitudes. According to the hypothesis, the current Western ‘norm’ is relatively left-wing values, the intelligent are better at norm-mapping and better at perceiving the benefits of conforming to the dominant set of values and this explains why they are more likely, in this context, to be relatively left wing. This article will critically examine this hypothesis. It will argue that the evidence for it is questionable and open to different interpretations, there is evidence that contradicts it, and it leaves key questions unanswered. The article will propose that a simpler explanation for the association is that intelligence is positively associated with openness-intellect, low time preference and agreeableness.     

Socioanalytic theory and work behavior: Roles of work values and political skill in job performance and promotability assessment

Socioanalytic theory postulates that job performance ratings are predicted by basic social motives moderated by social competency. The two motives are the motive to get along with others and the motive to achieve status and power. The present two-study investigation assessed these motives as work values and collected supervisors' job performance and promotability assessments. Social competency was assessed as political skill at work. The results provided strong and consistent support for the hypotheses, thus providing a more direct test of socioanalytic theory and extending it to demonstrate effects beyond overall job performance ratings on contextual performance and promotability assessments. Contributions and implications of these results, strengths and limitations, directions for future research, and practical implications are discussed.     

Basic Personal Values,Core Political Values,and Voting: A Longitudinal Analysis

We theorize that political values express basic personal values in the domain of politics. We test a set of hypotheses that specify how the motivational structure of basic values constrains and gives coherence to core political values. We also test the hypothesis that core political values mediate relations of basic personal values to voting demonstrated in previous research. We measured the basic personal values, core political values, and vote of Italian adults both before (n = 1699) and after (n = 1030) the 2006 national election. Basic values explained substantial variance in each of eight political values (22% to 53%) and predicted voting significantly. Correlations and an MDS projection of relations among basic values and political values supported the hypothesized coherent structuring of core political values by basic values. Core political values fully mediated relations of basic values to voting, supporting a basic values—political values—voting causal hierarchy.     

Do Strong Group Identities Fuel Intolerance? Evidence From the South African Case

One conventional explanation of intergroup conflict is Social Identity Theory. That theory asserts that strong ingroup sympathies can give rise to outgroup antipathies which in turn fuel intolerance and conflict. While embraced by both macro- and microlevel analysts, this theory actually has not been widely investigated outside a laboratory environment. In this article, I test hypotheses linking group identities with intolerance, based on a 2001 survey in South Africa, a country where group identities have long been politicized. My empirical findings indicate that group identities are not useful predictors of South African intolerance. Indeed, for neither the black majority nor the white minority do ingroup identities activate very much outgroup intolerance. Moreover, group identities are positively, not negatively, correlated with holding a South African national identity. These findings, based on unusually broad indicators of both identity and tolerance, suggest that the causes of group conflict lie elsewhere than in group attachments.     

施特劳斯政治哲学的精神与中国传统之重建

该文认为政治就是以公共权力分配为核心内容的游戏;政治学与政治哲学的根本区别在于政治学研究权力游戏规则的运行规律,而政治哲学则研究权力游戏规则的合法性;古典西方政治哲学所形成的是一种正义传统,而它正与中国古典政治哲学的天道传统相呼应。中国近代所形成的革命文化破坏了我们自己的政治哲学传统,重建我们自己的政治哲学和政治文化传统,是当代中国文化建设的核心任务之一。     

What if there were no God? Politically conservative and liberal Christians imagine their lives without faith

A sample of devout Christian adults, ranging widely in political orientation, described what their lives (and the world) might be like had they never embraced faith. Politically conservative Christians (also scoring high on right-wing authoritarianism) tended to imagine a life deficient in impulse control, wherein unrestrained sexual and aggressive urges, addictive behaviors, and human selfishness undermined the social good. By contrast, politically liberal Christians (also scoring low on right-wing authoritarianism) imagined an empty and barren world, devoid of the emotional intensity that makes life worth living. Gender differences were also observed, but they did not interfere with the relation between political orientation and the narrative themes. In accord with theoretical writings regarding normative and humanistic ideologies, the findings suggest that, at least among American Christians, political conservatism may entail a fear of, or strong sensitivity to, the prospects of conflict and chaos, whereas political liberalism may entail an equally strong fear of, or sensitivity to, emptiness.     

Pastoral Care of Political Discourse: Shepherding Communication

I argue that the tradition(s) of pastoral care contributes to our understanding of Christian discipleship vis-à-vis political discourse. In particular, I understand pastoral care, in part, as shepherding political discourse. To care for and about political discourse involves a radical openness to the Other, which is made possible by the virtues of hospitality, compassion, humility, and forgiveness. The primary pastoral aim in shepherding political discourse is not the realization of political power or the realization of Christian beliefs through rhetorical coercion, evangelical assimilation, or consensus. Positively, the aim of pastoral political discourse is to shepherd the communicative processes such that there is a possibility of real meetings.     

A phenomenology of political apathy: Scheler on the origins of mass violence

In his criticisms of the German youth movement and the emergence of fascism across Europe during the early 1920s, Max Scheler draws a distinction between the different senses of political apathy that give rise to mass political movements. Recent studies of mass apathy have tended to treat all forms of apathy as the same and as a consequence reduced the diverse expressions of mass violence to the same, stripping mass movements of any critical function. I show in this paper that Scheler’s distinction provides the means by which to locate the various origins of mass violence and the practical means by which to address this violence that preserves the liberating potential of collective political movements.